Merrytime Magic - A December 2016 Trip Report!

[ZellyB]

Wow! You guys did a lot on your at sea day. Sounds like lots of fun, but the mixology class does sound a little disappointing. I would definitely have enjoyed getting to mix my own drinks more, but, hey, now you know.

That brunch buffet looks AMAZING!! Yummy.

I gotta say that duck confit does not look very appetizing. I do love lamb though, so I'm glad the Mr. A enjoyed his and your steak looks yummy.

 

[dta87]

I love ALL of your trip reports, your writing/storytelling is outstanding! But, it is a love/hate kind of thing, they just make me want to book another cruise or sign up for another challenge run.

After that, we were invited to load up our own plates. Interesting difference here between the Magic and the newer ships - on the Dream this summer and the Fantasy last summer, we each got a CM “assigned” to us who would load up our plates for us at the buffet. Here on the Magic, we just did it ourselves. I’ve read many theories as to why the CMs load up the plates, and at this point I think every theory is wrong and I have no idea why this is different. If it was a money-saving move by DCL (as in, you don’t gorge yourself to the extreme if a CM is getting the food for you because you’re too embarrassed for them to see how much food you really want), then why not do it across the entire fleet? And if it’s a health thing (like a noro outbreak on the ship or whatever), why did this JUST happen in Palo on our previous cruises - when you could go into Cabanas and still serve yourself? And if it’s because they want it to be a more upscale experience and have the CMs serve the guests...again, why is it not done across the fleet? Who knows.
Continued...

Palo brunch is our favorite as well. We "just" got off the Halloween on the High Seas cruise on the Magic in October and thought it was weird to see the CMs load up the plates for the guests. The only time we had seen it before, even on the newer ships, was when the seas were a little bit rough so we declined when they offered to help. So I guess they have updated that procedure.

I can't wait to read the rest of your cruise report (and hopefully one on your upcoming Dopey)

 

[Dis5150]

I think your gingerbread house looks great! And what a busy day! If I ever got DH on a Disney cruise I doubt he would be up for doing so much stuff - he thinks he needs to relax on vacation! Silly man! Your cruise looks like so much fun! I have only been on one cruise, a long time ago, on Royal Caribbean, I think, and I was seasick the whole time. So I am torn! I want to do a Disney cruise but don't want to be sick the whole time! All your awesome pics make it so tempting though!

 

[BigEeyore]

What an awesome TR so far! I love how you make the most of every moment and give us all the juicy details (good and bad).
That stinks that the gym is no good on the Magic - I was pretty underwhelmed by the one on the Dream as well but that sounds worse! I found that multiple repetitive laps on the jogging deck was better than the TM in that hole of a gym!
Oh Palo - SO good! We had dinner in Palo on our cruise and it is still the best meal of our lives!
Thanks for taking us all along with you on your trip!

 

[SarahDisney]

I love your gingerbread house! It may not be the fanciest thing ever, but I think it's super cute!

THEY HAVE A BABY RACE??? That alone might be worth the cost of cruising. That's adorable.

Dinner looks great! I'm sorry to hear that the duck confit was a disappointment, but oh well. At least you ended the meal with an awesome sundae ... that's probably the best way to end any meal.

Overall, it sounds like a fun (& busy!) sea day!

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Joining in for your trip report! It sounds like you had a great time and wow, you really squeezed in a lot on your at-sea day. I love the idea of the Merrytime cruises - as a huge Christmas person, this is right up my alley. Reading this is making me really want to do another Disney cruise. My Dad, sisters and I did our first this past summer (Alaska on the Wonder) and had an amazing time. We'd all love to experience another ship and another location (although I would totally do Alaska again - it was incredible).

And I have to comment on you mentioning Jamesy - he was the "adult entertainment" host on our cruise on the Wonder and we adored him! We did a lot of trivia in the bars/lounges and he was in almost every one of them. We heard a lot of his jokes multiple times, but he cracked us up. He must have gotten relocated when the Wonder went through dry dock.

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

Great report so far! DH and I aren't cruisers (we tried, and we just can't, totally our issue not anyone else's) but you make this sound amazing! The onboard activities sound fun! I'm really excited you got to see Tangled, because that would be the reason why I'd even do a DCL cruise, it's one of my favorites. Sorry to hear that The Snuggly Duckling wasn't up to par, though, it sounds like you made the most of the situation!

Girl...Key West is my JAM! I've been going there quite regularly for 20+ years (went to college in Miami, it was 3 hours away, do the math) and definitely get off Duval Street! It's great for wandering around and bar-hopping, but Key West is so much more. Turtle Kraals, Schooner Wharf, Louies' Backyard, Blue Heaven (to die for breakfast with the chickens!), so many others. Glad you had a good time, though. Key lime pie is the best! I'm actually a key lime pie/mojito connoisseur and I will tell you that Kelly's (owned by Kelly McGillis) on Caroline Street has some really good pie AND a martini with the same theme. It's really great. Also, just FYI for those who might be heading to WDW soon, Publix (grocery store) actually makes a really great key lime pie (and a mango version if you want a less tart pie), and there's a Publix really close to property on Osceola Parkway, east of Shingle Creek.

Also, when in Key West (and I realize you couldn't have done this due to cruise time) there is a really fantastic drag show at a club called Aqua. We had a great time there a few years ago, and Christian Slater was even there. What?! Anyway, fun times. Hemingway House is wonderful (they have a resident polydactyl cat population, really great story there), as is the lighthouse across the street, Truman's house, and Fort Zachary Taylor and beaches. We usually stay at the Westin (nee Hilton) on Mallory Square there, and our view of the water has been obstructed by the cruise ships in the past.

What even with an Irish mojito? What the what? No. Just no. Very interested to read more about your adventures in Nassau!

 

[TestingH2O]

All caught up! Thanks for writing this, it's a fun way to spend part of my holiday break.

 

[Ariel484]

That was a jam packed day! That sucks that the gym had no ventilation. That sounds like my high school weight room.

The gingerbread house making looks like so much fun! You guys did pretty good too.

I've heard so many things about Palo on the ships. Glad you had a nice meal there.

That sucks that the mixology class wasn't very good. The baby racing looks like a lot of fun to watch!

Looks like you finished the night off with a decent meal. The strawberry shortcake sundae looks really good.

Yeah that dinner was better than I expected! Especially the strawberry shortcake.

Wow! You guys did a lot on your at sea day. Sounds like lots of fun, but the mixology class does sound a little disappointing. I would definitely have enjoyed getting to mix my own drinks more, but, hey, now you know.

That brunch buffet looks AMAZING!! Yummy.

I gotta say that duck confit does not look very appetizing. I do love lamb though, so I'm glad the Mr. A enjoyed his and your steak looks yummy.

Mixology is always a toss-up...I think of the 6 times I have done it, I've only ever gotten a full line-up of drinks I liked once (which is probably okay because that's a LOT of booze!).

I highly recommend skipping the duck confit and NOT skipping Palo brunch if/when you go on your first Disney cruise!

I love ALL of your trip reports, your writing/storytelling is outstanding! But, it is a love/hate kind of thing, they just make me want to book another cruise or sign up for another challenge run.

Thank you! I'm sorry for your bank account.

Palo brunch is our favorite as well. We "just" got off the Halloween on the High Seas cruise on the Magic in October and thought it was weird to see the CMs load up the plates for the guests. The only time we had seen it before, even on the newer ships, was when the seas were a little bit rough so we declined when they offered to help. So I guess they have updated that procedure.

I can't wait to read the rest of your cruise report (and hopefully one on your upcoming Dopey)

Ah, I didn't know they did that at all on the classic ships - I thought it was split between the newer and older ships. The funny thing is that after a couple of cruises with the CMs loading the plates for us, I thought it was so weird that they didn't do it for us this time!

Thanks for reading!

I think your gingerbread house looks great! And what a busy day! If I ever got DH on a Disney cruise I doubt he would be up for doing so much stuff - he thinks he needs to relax on vacation! Silly man! Your cruise looks like so much fun! I have only been on one cruise, a long time ago, on Royal Caribbean, I think, and I was seasick the whole time. So I am torn! I want to do a Disney cruise but don't want to be sick the whole time! All your awesome pics make it so tempting though!

Don't worry, we made up for the busy day with a lazy one!

I will say, this cruise was one where I think we felt the motion the most out of the 6 I have done and the 4 he has done...I'm wondering if maybe because it's a smaller ship? The worst one was our Fantasy cruise last summer, but I think that was just rough waters...otherwise the cruises have been pretty good. We're always aware of the motion but it's not enough to get sick. What time of year was your cruise? We pretty much always go in the summer (this one was an exception) so maybe that's just the time of year for smoother waters?

What an awesome TR so far! I love how you make the most of every moment and give us all the juicy details (good and bad).
That stinks that the gym is no good on the Magic - I was pretty underwhelmed by the one on the Dream as well but that sounds worse! I found that multiple repetitive laps on the jogging deck was better than the TM in that hole of a gym!
Oh Palo - SO good! We had dinner in Palo on our cruise and it is still the best meal of our lives!
Thanks for taking us all along with you on your trip!

Thanks! See, I thought I'd love the jogging track, but I tried it on the Dream a couple of years ago and hated it! I thought it was boring, too, and I kept losing track of my laps!

We LOVE Palo - couldn't choose between brunch or dinner, so we always do both!

I love your gingerbread house! It may not be the fanciest thing ever, but I think it's super cute!

THEY HAVE A BABY RACE??? That alone might be worth the cost of cruising. That's adorable.

Dinner looks great! I'm sorry to hear that the duck confit was a disappointment, but oh well. At least you ended the meal with an awesome sundae ... that's probably the best way to end any meal.

Overall, it sounds like a fun (& busy!) sea day!

Thanks! Yes, the baby race was hilarious. Most of the time the babies just sat there, but there were a couple that actually crawled the entire way! And then they seemed surprised and confused by all of the cheering

The duck was just weird...that's the best way I can describe it!

Joining in for your trip report! It sounds like you had a great time and wow, you really squeezed in a lot on your at-sea day. I love the idea of the Merrytime cruises - as a huge Christmas person, this is right up my alley. Reading this is making me really want to do another Disney cruise. My Dad, sisters and I did our first this past summer (Alaska on the Wonder) and had an amazing time. We'd all love to experience another ship and another location (although I would totally do Alaska again - it was incredible).

Yeah, I love Christmas too...and the funny thing is that the ginderbread house making is the only special Christmas activity we actually did! They had the tree lighting, Santa, storytelling, etc. and we just never made it to any of those things.

Alaska is on our radar...I was actually just pricing out Alaskan cruises last night but we haven't booked anything. I'm not sure when, but I think we both want to go to Alaska next!

And I have to comment on you mentioning Jamesy - he was the "adult entertainment" host on our cruise on the Wonder and we adored him! We did a lot of trivia in the bars/lounges and he was in almost every one of them. We heard a lot of his jokes multiple times, but he cracked us up. He must have gotten relocated when the Wonder went through dry dock.

Yes! I realized afterward that it's Jamesy, not Jamey. This was the only time we saw him and he was hilarious!!

Great report so far! DH and I aren't cruisers (we tried, and we just can't, totally our issue not anyone else's) but you make this sound amazing! The onboard activities sound fun! I'm really excited you got to see Tangled, because that would be the reason why I'd even do a DCL cruise, it's one of my favorites. Sorry to hear that The Snuggly Duckling wasn't up to par, though, it sounds like you made the most of the situation!

Thanks! I didn't think we would be cruises either, but we totally love it. It is so relaxing!!

Tangled was good...I think the shows are okay for the mostpart, but I would see that one again.

Girl...Key West is my JAM! I've been going there quite regularly for 20+ years (went to college in Miami, it was 3 hours away, do the math) and definitely get off Duval Street! It's great for wandering around and bar-hopping, but Key West is so much more. Turtle Kraals, Schooner Wharf, Louies' Backyard, Blue Heaven (to die for breakfast with the chickens!), so many others. Glad you had a good time, though. Key lime pie is the best! I'm actually a key lime pie/mojito connoisseur and I will tell you that Kelly's (owned by Kelly McGillis) on Caroline Street has some really good pie AND a martini with the same theme. It's really great. Also, just FYI for those who might be heading to WDW soon, Publix (grocery store) actually makes a really great key lime pie (and a mango version if you want a less tart pie), and there's a Publix really close to property on Osceola Parkway, east of Shingle Creek.

Also, when in Key West (and I realize you couldn't have done this due to cruise time) there is a really fantastic drag show at a club called Aqua. We had a great time there a few years ago, and Christian Slater was even there. What?! Anyway, fun times. Hemingway House is wonderful (they have a resident polydactyl cat population, really great story there), as is the lighthouse across the street, Truman's house, and Fort Zachary Taylor and beaches. We usually stay at the Westin (nee Hilton) on Mallory Square there, and our view of the water has been obstructed by the cruise ships in the past.

I'm seriously going to save this post in a Word document to refer to if we go back to Key West.

What even with an Irish mojito? What the what? No. Just no. Very interested to read more about your adventures in Nassau!

Gah, I don't know. When she was describing it I thought it had potential, but it was a big nope for me.

I hate to disappoint you...but we did not get off the ship in Nassau!

All caught up! Thanks for writing this, it's a fun way to spend part of my holiday break.

Yay! Thanks for reading.

 

[TCB in FLA]

Enjoying your TR so far! We are just off the Dream Christmas cruise, and DH and I did the Palo brunch on Christmas morning (delish of course!). However, the CMs did *not* load up our plates at the buffet, although one helped me reach something at the back of a table, then took my plate back to the table for me when I told him that was enough. So maybe they are listening?

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Yeah, I love Christmas too...and the funny thing is that the ginderbread house making is the only special Christmas activity we actually did! They had the tree lighting, Santa, storytelling, etc. and we just never made it to any of those things.

Alaska is on our radar...I was actually just pricing out Alaskan cruises last night but we haven't booked anything. I'm not sure when, but I think we both want to go to Alaska next!

All of that sounds amazing! Too bad you never made it to anything other than the gingerbread house making.

I highly recommend it and cannot praise it enough! I think everyone who has the chance should see Alaska at some point in their life. It will be quite a bit different than what you're used to if all you've done is tropical Caribbean cruises, but the scenery is spectacular (there's almost always something to see, even when at sea) and it more than makes up for the lack of sunshiny, warm weather (other than when we were leaving and arriving back in Vancouver, the weather we had was cool, cloudy, foggy and on/off drizzle the entire time - the true Alaskan experience according to anyone we talked to in port - haha). But I was totally fine with it. The whole cruise was the trip of a lifetime and some of our best memories are on those days we were out in the elements (the Endicott Arm fjord and Ketchikan days specifically). If you and your husband decide to do it, definitely be prepared to book way in advance. We booked ours for mid-July of this year in August 2015, and even by that point, our stateroom choices were limited.

 

[Ariel484]

Enjoying your TR so far! We are just off the Dream Christmas cruise, and DH and I did the Palo brunch on Christmas morning (delish of course!). However, the CMs did *not* load up our plates at the buffet, although one helped me reach something at the back of a table, then took my plate back to the table for me when I told him that was enough. So maybe they are listening?

That's interesting about Palo! They definitely loaded up our plates on the Dream when we sailed in June. Maybe you're right, that they got a decent number of complaints?

All of that sounds amazing! Too bad you never made it to anything other than the gingerbread house making.

I highly recommend it and cannot praise it enough! I think everyone who has the chance should see Alaska at some point in their life. It will be quite a bit different than what you're used to if all you've done is tropical Caribbean cruises, but the scenery is spectacular (there's almost always something to see, even when at sea) and it more than makes up for the lack of sunshiny, warm weather (other than when we were leaving and arriving back in Vancouver, the weather we had was cool, cloudy, foggy and on/off drizzle the entire time - the true Alaskan experience according to anyone we talked to in port - haha). But I was totally fine with it. The whole cruise was the trip of a lifetime and some of our best memories are on those days we were out in the elements (the Endicott Arm fjord and Ketchikan days specifically). If you and your husband decide to do it, definitely be prepared to book way in advance. We booked ours for mid-July of this year in August 2015, and even by that point, our stateroom choices were limited.

It's definitely something we want to do, just not sure which year we will do it. This summer will be pretty jam-packed for us, so I'm thinking it won't be until 2018...which is good because we can book it on opening day and get a cheaper fare! I have really wanted to see Vancouver since the Olympics were held there a few years back, so I'm thinking we'd spend a few days there before cruising as well.

 

[Ariel484]

Happy New Year!! Wishing you all the best for 2017!

---------------------------------------------------

Day 4: Wednesday, December 21, 2016 - Nassau

Today the Magic was docked in Nassau...along with 3 other ships (2 Royal Caribbean, 1 Norwegian)!

During our cruise in June on the Dream, we'd gotten off the ship at Nassau for the first time to find some free Wi-fi and check out the port area...we were not fans. It was crowded and overwhelming, and the security procedure to get back onto the ship took fooorrrrreeever (granted, I think there was construction going on at the time, but we just wanted to GO). None of the excursions offered in Nassau have ever really interested us, so we decided that from here on out, Nassau would be treated as a bonus At Sea day for us!

It started in the gym again, at about 8:30. This time Mr. A joined me. I did 4 miles on the treadmill this morning...knowing how hot and stuffy it was going to get in the gym made this run seem harder, even though it was 1 mile shorter than the previous morning's run! At least the gym wasn't as crowded today.

From there...I really can't remember what else we did today! There are no pictures until dinner. I know we showered, got breakfast and then just headed up to Deck 10 to find some chairs in the shade near the AquaDunk. We barely moved all day and it was glorious! Mr. A read a book while I snoozed in my chair and read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. We also tried the Twist & Spout slide (bumpy!! Once was enough for that one), and...the AquaDunk when it opened up at 11:30!! Yep, I tried it a second time. And then went right back up for a third time since there was no line (hooray for staying on the ship on a port day!)!! It really IS better after the first time! Mr. A just stuck to one ride.

So not really a trip report-worthy day, but a day that we both really needed - to just sit around and do nothing! That's what I love about cruises...you can have a day like we had the previous day, that was pretty full, or a day like today where you do nothing and it's a-ok!

Tonight was Pirate Night, but we had other plans for dinner! We headed up to Deck 10 to watch the sunset...

Continued...

 

[ZellyB]

That sounds like the most perfect day of vacation in the history of mankind.

Ok, I may be overstating the point, but that sounds so wonderful.

 

[Ariel484]

That sounds like the most perfect day of vacation in the history of mankind.

Ok, I may be overstating the point, but that sounds so wonderful.

Oh it gets better!!

 

[Ariel484]

Tonight we were heading back to Palo for dinner! EEEEEEEK

Mehmet was our server again and he recognized us right away when we checked in. This is always such a nice touch from DCL - every time we have eaten at Palo multiple times on the same sailing, we have had the same server at each meal.

We were one of the first parties seated for dinner.

Palo dinner starts off with the antipasto cart...yum!

The bread - the one in the middle was my favorite. It's pizza dough with a sort of really light basil pesto-like spread on top. Soooo good!

We each ordered a small portion of the gnocchi which has ruined all other gnocchi for me...it is sooooo good. It just melts in your mouth! And after enjoying the caprese so much at brunch, we ordered a salad to split.

Up next was the palate cleanser, which is a lemon sorbet...

Mr. A had surprised me by insisting that we order a bottle of wine to split - a Chianti. Mehmet told us that if we didn't finish the entire bottle (which we knew we wouldn't/shouldn't) that it would be sent down to the main dining room for us the next night, or that we could take it with us to our room. We elected to have it sent to dinner the next day. I think the vineyard was called Classico...very nice wine!

We put in our dessert orders before our entrees came out. Once again we noticed that there was a risotto listed with one of the other meals, so we asked for a side of that...not like we weren't going to have (or had not already had) enough food already!!

This was Milanese Risotto, which I guess is regular risotto with saffron added. Looking back, I think this was the same risotto used in the arancini balls at brunch.

We both went with the Palo beef tenderloin for our meals, which comes with potatoes and spinach....AHHHH YUM!

SO DELICIOUS. I know we didn't finish all of our meals though, because we still had dessert to come...with coffee, obviously.

Chocolate souffle for me!

And almond amaretto for Mr. A!

Followed by the digestif (some sort of lemon/champagne shot that is supposed to help you start digesting).

Another amazing meal at Palo!! Mehmet told us to make sure to look for him tomorrow at Castaway Cay as he'd be working at the adult's lunch spot grilling rib-eyes. We settled our bill, added on a tip and then left to walk it off.

I think we were originally planning on seeing the Pirate fireworks, but instead we headed back to the Buena Vista Theater (in the accessible row again - didn't have to move!) to see Rogue One at 8PM. We just recently started watching the Star Wars movies, so we aren't SUPER into it yet...but we enjoy it and enjoyed this movie! The final few minutes left us with our jaws hanging open in shock! Great ending!!

We had this guy waiting for us.

We watched movies and then were off to bed! Up next - Castaway Cay!

 

[rteetz]

Happy New Year to you as well!

I have heard Nassau is not a good place to go off the ship.

I knew you would go on the Aquadunk again.

Palo looks amazing!

 

[SarahDisney]

Sometimes a nice, laid-back day is exactly what you need in the middle of a vacation. Yay for trying the AquaDunk again (and again) - I'm glad you liked it better this time!

Palo dinner looks and sounds yummy!

I'm glad you guys enjoyed Rogue One! I finally finished watching the first 6 movies a few weeks ago, so now I feel like I should probably see Rogue One (and The Force Awakes, which I haven't seen yet) ... but I'm probably going to wait until it hits TV. I do feel like being able to watch all of the latest movies is one of the major pluses of a Disney cruise.

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

Happy New Year!! Great updates. I really want to visit Key West- your day trip looked quite fun. That key lime pie looked divine!! As does both Palo meals- yum, yum!

Oh and I have to comment on the lame Snuggly Duckling overlay. I feel like they missed an opportunity for a cool experience. It's a nice try though!

I'm not sure if I would have been brave enough to try the AquaDunk. I am a huge baby about water slides. The fact that you ended up going three times though makes me think it may be worth it haha

I love how it seems you were really able to relax on this vacation (as seems the case with most Disney cruises!). I have only done Disney parks which for me is pretty non stop, so I would really love to experience a slower side to Disney!

I'm glad you liked Rogue One. I thought the movies was very interesting and compelling!

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

That's interesting about Palo! They definitely loaded up our plates on the Dream when we sailed in June. Maybe you're right, that they got a decent number of complaints?

It's definitely something we want to do, just not sure which year we will do it. This summer will be pretty jam-packed for us, so I'm thinking it won't be until 2018...which is good because we can book it on opening day and get a cheaper fare! I have really wanted to see Vancouver since the Olympics were held there a few years back, so I'm thinking we'd spend a few days there before cruising as well.

You definitely should. We only got to spend half a day in Vancouver since we arrived the day before our cruise departed and flew home the day the cruise ended. I wish we had had more time there, but we did manage to see the Olympic cauldron! Since it was just for one night, we stayed at the Pan Pacific hotel right at Canada Place where the cruise terminal is, and the cauldron was right there.